Hillary Clinton breaks with Obama on 'Cadillac tax'

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Hillary Clinton accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 28. The former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state was the first woman to lead the presidential ticket of a major political party.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Before marrying Bill Clinton, she was Hillary Rodham. Here she attends Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Her commencement speech at Wellesley's graduation ceremony in 1969 attracted national attention. After graduating, she attended Yale Law School.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Rodham was a lawyer on the House Judiciary Committee, whose work led to impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in 1974.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

In 1975, Rodham married Bill Clinton, whom she met at Yale Law School. He became the governor of Arkansas in 1978. In 1980, the couple had a daughter, Chelsea.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Arkansas' first lady, now using the name Hillary Rodham Clinton, wears her inaugural ball gown in 1985.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons celebrate Bill's inauguration in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1991. He was governor from 1983 to 1992, when he was elected President.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Bill Clinton comforts his wife on the set of "60 Minutes" after a stage light broke loose from the ceiling and knocked her down in January 1992.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

In June 1992, Clinton uses a sewing machine designed to eliminate back and wrist strain. She had just given a speech at a convention of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union.

Clinton accompanies her husband as he takes the oath of office in January 1993.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons share a laugh on Capitol Hill in 1993.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton unveils the renovated Blue Room of the White House in 1995.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton waves to the media in January 1996 as she arrives for an appearance before a grand jury in Washington. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas. The Clintons' business investment was investigated, but ultimately they were cleared of any wrongdoing.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons hug as Bill is sworn in for a second term as President.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The first lady holds up a Grammy Award, which she won for her audiobook "It Takes a Village" in 1997.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons dance on a beach in the U.S. Virgin Islands in January 1998. Later that month, Bill Clinton was accused of having a sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton looks on as her husband discusses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 26, 1998. Clinton declared, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." In August of that year, Clinton testified before a grand jury and admitted to having "inappropriate intimate contact" with Lewinsky, but he said it did not constitute sexual relations because they had not had intercourse. He was impeached in December on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The first family walks with their dog, Buddy, as they leave the White House for a vacation in August 1998.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

President Clinton makes a statement at the White House in December 1998, thanking members of Congress who voted against his impeachment. The Senate trial ended with an acquittal in February 1999.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton announces in February 2000 that she will seek the U.S. Senate seat in New York. She was elected later that year.

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Clinton makes her first appearance on the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Sen. Clinton comforts Maren Sarkarat, a woman who lost her husband in the September 11 terrorist attacks, during a ground-zero memorial in October 2001.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton holds up her book "Living History" before a signing in Auburn Hills, Michigan, in 2003.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton and another presidential hopeful, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, applaud at the start of a Democratic debate in 2007.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a rally in Unity, New Hampshire, in June 2008. She had recently ended her presidential campaign and endorsed Obama.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Obama is flanked by Clinton and Vice President-elect Joe Biden at a news conference in Chicago in December 2008. He had designated Clinton to be his secretary of state.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton, as secretary of state, greets Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a meeting just outside Moscow in March 2010.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons pose on the day of Chelsea's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky in July 2010.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

In this photo provided by the White House, Obama, Clinton, Biden and other members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton checks her Blackberry inside a military plane after leaving Malta in October 2011. In 2015, The New York Times reported that Clinton exclusively used a personal email account during her time as secretary of state. The account, fed through its own server, raises security and preservation concerns. Clinton later said she used a private domain out of "convenience," but admits in retrospect "it would have been better" to use multiple emails.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton arrives for a group photo before a forum with the Gulf Cooperation Council in March 2012. The forum was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Obama and Clinton bow during the transfer-of-remains ceremony marking the return of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who were killed in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton ducks after a woman threw a shoe at her while she was delivering remarks at a recycling trade conference in Las Vegas in 2014.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton, now running for President again, performs with Jimmy Fallon during a "Tonight Show" skit in September 2015.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton testifies about the Benghazi attack during a House committee meeting in October 2015. "I would imagine I have thought more about what happened than all of you put together," she said during the 11-hour hearing. "I have lost more sleep than all of you put together. I have been wracking my brain about what more could have been done or should have been done." Months earlier, Clinton had acknowledged a "systemic breakdown" as cited by an Accountability Review Board, and she said that her department was taking additional steps to increase security at U.S. diplomatic facilities.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders shares a lighthearted moment with Clinton during a Democratic presidential debate in October 2015. It came after Sanders gave his take on the Clinton email scandal. "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about the damn emails," Sanders said. "Enough of the emails. Let's talk about the real issues facing the United States of America."

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton is reflected in a teleprompter during a campaign rally in Alexandria, Virginia, in October 2015.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton walks on her stage with her family after winning the New York primary in April.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

After Clinton became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, this photo was posted to her official Twitter account. "To every little girl who dreams big: Yes, you can be anything you want -- even president," Clinton said. "Tonight is for you."

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Obama hugs Clinton after he gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The president said Clinton was ready to be commander in chief. "For four years, I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment and her discipline," he said, referring to her stint as his secretary of state.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton arrives at a 9/11 commemoration ceremony in New York on September 11. Clinton, who was diagnosed with pneumonia two days before, left early after feeling ill. A video appeared to show her stumble as Secret Service agents helped her into a van.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton addresses a campaign rally in Cleveland on November 6, two days before Election Day. She went on to lose Ohio -- and the election -- to her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

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After conceding the presidency to Trump in a phone call earlier, Clinton addresses supporters and campaign workers in New York on Wednesday, November 9. Her defeat marked a stunning end to a campaign that appeared poised to make her the first woman elected US president.

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Story highlights

Errol Louis: Hillary Clinton supports repealing so-called 'Cadillac tax,' a key part of Obamacare that is opposed by organized labor

He says could gain her union support, but risks alienating administration and Democrats who fought long and hard for Obamacare

Errol Louis is the host of "Inside City Hall," a nightly political show on NY1, a New York all-news channel. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN)Hillary Clinton crossed a political Rubicon by announcing she supports a partial repeal of Obamacare, openly distancing herself from what is far and away the marquee domestic policy initiative of the sitting president. The move will bolster Clinton's support from big labor unions, a critical part of the Democratic Party establishment -- but with it she also risks alienating the President and losing the votes of Obama supporters concerned about protecting his legacy.

Errol Louis

At issue is the so-called "Cadillac Tax" on health insurance plans, a provision of Obamacare that takes effect on New Year's Day in 2018. On that date, insurance plans will get socked with a 40% excise tax on every dollar in insurance premiums above $10,200 for an individual or $27,500 for a family plan.

The money raised from the tax -- an estimated $87 billion -- is essential to paying the cost of the Affordable Care Act. The tax also gives companies an incentive to shop more carefully for health plans instead of loading on benefits.

But the tax would hit the comprehensive health plans negotiated by unions over the years, giving companies an incentive to limit or terminate health benefits -- or pass the extra costs on to employees -- rather than pay the tax.

The typical family insurance plan costs about $16,000, so most employees would initially be spared: the levy would initially apply to an estimated 14% of all health plans at companies with 500 or more employees. Because the threshold for activating the text are pegged to inflation, that number is expected to steadily grow, by one estimate to 47% of all plans by 2023 and 65% of all plans by 2028, according to a study sited in The New York Times.

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Labor leaders have opposed the tax for years; in 2013, the AFL-CIO passed a resolution at its annual convention, promising that the labor federation "will strongly oppose taxing workers' health benefits." The same resolution called for removing the tax from the Affordable Care Act.

Clinton's Democratic rivals for president, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley, have already called for a repeal of the tax. Clinton, anxious to lock down labor support, had little choice but to join adopt the union's position.

"I encourage Congress to repeal the so-called Cadillac tax, which applies to some employer-based health plans, and to fully pay for the cost of repeal," Clinton said in a statement.

But that's sure to draw fire from Obama loyalists. "After decades of fighting for it, we're finally moving towards a more rational, efficient health care system. Let's not screw that up," writes Jared Bernstein, a former Obama administration economist who now runs the Center for American Progress think tank.

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Bernstein also issued a challenge to opponents: "Anyone who wants to kill the tax has some explaining to do... what's your alternative revenue raiser?"

That a good question -- one that puts the burden on Clinton--and Sanders and O'Malley, for that matter -- to find tens of billions of dollars a year to defray the cost of Obamacare. Her recently-announced promise to squeeze savings out of other parts of the health care system drew a caustic response from, among others, the Washington Post editorial board.

"It's hard to say which would be more discouraging," wrote the Post, "that Ms. Clinton knows this is a poor policy call and made it to appease politically influential unions, or that she doesn't know this is a bad choice."

Clinton can expect more such criticism in the months ahead. She made the logical short-term calculation that she needed to gather union support -- but that choice will draw fire from a wide range of left-leaning Obama supporters that fought the bitter battle to get Obamacare passed.

If Vice President Joe Biden jumps into the race, expect him to be the No. 1 White House warrior calling Clinton out for trying to unravel the long-sought goal of providing health care for all.